Her birth control is not the biggest threat to our waterways.This post was originally published at RH Reality Check and is reprinted with their kind permission.
We were sitting on the beach in our brightly colored lounge chairs, sipping piña coladas and enjoying the sun as I reassured my friend Alycia that it was completely OK to use birth control continuously to “skip” your period. I was on vacation, yes, but debunking myths about birth control is not just part of my 9-to-5 job, it’s part of my life. As a reproductive health and justice advocate, I often find myself answering questions from friends and family about birth-control options, fertility, and sexual health.
So I wasn’t surprised when my friend Meghan, a well-informed environmentalist and feminist, asked me, “Is it true that birth control in our water is destroying the environment?”
It’s an unsettling question. Hormonal birth control, like any other modern convenience, carries with it an environmental “footprint.” As a supporter of reproductive health and environmental sustainability, I take the question of birth control’s i... Read more
